THE REEMERGENCE OF PUCCINELLIA RUPESTRIS (POACEAE) IN NORTH AMERICA.

Puccinellia rupestris, British alkali grass or stiff saltmarsh grass, is a European halophyte that has only been documented in North America between 1867 and 1880 from coastal zones of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. We documented Puccinellia rupestris from southern Ohio along an annually salted roadside habitat in 2007. Our collection represents the fourth United States record and the first vouchered report of this taxon from North America in 127 years. The stable population of this exotic grass demonstrates its ability to migrate inland from a coastal environment and become a newly established member the Ohio vascular flora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]